How can I get scholarships or financial aid for the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto?

It depends from where you are, as well as your previous background. If you are not a Canadian, you will only be eligible for some scholarships and not financial aid. Even then the competition will be too much and you’ll have to be too good with a unique background so that you become a prospective student with a lot of potential at UBC.

There are different scholarships for different programs. All have varying criteria which you need to go through carefully. Female students in hard sciences have an added benefit in many scholarships specifically aimed to help them.

UBC

• Offers funds based on your academic and extracurriculars. You’d be automatically considered for any merit-based awards once admitted to UBC for up to 25-30% of total offered funding.
• UBC Need-based awards comprise 65-70% of total funding and depends on the student's financial need.
• UBC Hybrid scholarships are awarded based on a combination of merit (academics, leadership skills, etc.) and student’s financial requirements. These make up 10% of the UBC funding.

University of Toronto

• University of Toronto’s budget for funding in 2019-2020 was 247M CAD
• If you're a great student with active extracurricular participation, you can be considered for scholarships ranging from 7,500 CAD to 20,000 CAD
• You can check out UToronto’s website for specifics.

Credible academic references, exceptional marks and great personal achievements and records are a must for availing most of these merit-based scholarships. These merit-based scholarships/awards don't require any application as you’d be automatically considered. Finally, make sure you work hard and apply on time to be considered for these.